In November 2020, the University of Regina, in partnership with the MacKenzie Art Gallery, embarked on the historic repatriation of a statue of the goddess Annapoorna to India. Originally bequeathed to the University by Norman MacKenzie (1869-1936), visiting artist Divya Mehra located documents relating to the sculpture’s acquisition. These documents revealed it had been stolen on MacKenzie’s behalf from a shrine in Varansi, India in 1913. Shortly thereafter, it was shipped to Regina and subsequently ended up under the care of the University in 1936.

Due to an early misidentification as the god Vishnu, the sculpture required expert review by Dr. Siddharth Shah, Curator of Indian and South Asian Art at the Peabody Essex Museum. Divya Mehra’s exhibition, From India to Canada and Back to India (There is Nothing I Can Possess Which You Cannot Take Away) (August 2020-January 2021), featured a new artwork created in response to the Annapoorna and its theft. The repatriation and exhibition were featured in local and international news and art outlets, including The Globe and Mail, Times of India, hyperallergic.com, The Art Newspaper and VICE. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, also celebrated the repatriation in a national address.

To formally mark the start of Annapoorna’s return to India, a repatriation ceremony was organised with the High Commission of India in Ottawa on November 19th, 2020. The ceremony was attended by Mr. Ajay Bisaria, High Commissioner of India, University of Regina Interim President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Thomas Chase, and other honoured guests. A farewell ceremony for community members was organised through the MacKenzie Art Gallery.

These events have prompted critical reflection on the harmful colonial legacies embedded in the University’s collections, initiating a review of holdings to take place in 2021. The act of repatriation was received as a positive contribution to India-Canada relations and highlighted the University’s commitment to address colonial wrongdoing.